White Kelsey, Eraclio Giovanni, McDonnell Brian, Lugli Gabriele Andrea, Crowley Tadhg, Ventura Marco, Volonté Federica, Cambillau Christian, Dal Bello Fabio, Mahony Jennifer, van Sinderen Douwe
School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, T12 Y337, Ireland.
APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, T12 YT20, Ireland.
Microb Genom. 2025 Apr;11(4). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001395.
Dairy fermentations using mesophilic starter cultures rely on the activity of specific lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as and for the acidification of milk. This biotechnological process can be affected by bacteriophage infection of LAB starter strains, which may result in delayed or even failed fermentations. Most studied lactococcal phages commence infection with the binding of a tail-associated receptor-binding protein (RBP) to a host cell surface-exposed cell wall polysaccharide (CWPS). In the present study, phage prevalence and diversity in whey samples originating from fermentations performed in various European countries employing undefined mesophilic starter cultures were investigated using phageome analysis. The range of RBP genotypes present in the phageomes and associated RBP-CWPS binding abilities were evaluated, resulting in the refinement and expansion of the RBP grouping system and the identification of several heretofore unknown RBP (sub)groups. These findings substantially expand our knowledge on lactococcal RBP diversity and their binding specificity towards CWPS receptor structures, thereby improving the predictability of fermentation outcomes and robustness of starter culture rotations and blends.
使用嗜温发酵剂培养物进行乳制品发酵依赖于特定乳酸菌（LAB）的活性，如 和 ，用于牛奶的酸化。这个生物技术过程可能会受到LAB发酵剂菌株噬菌体感染的影响，这可能导致发酵延迟甚至失败。大多数研究的乳球菌噬菌体通过尾部相关的受体结合蛋白（RBP）与宿主细胞表面暴露的细胞壁多糖（CWPS）结合开始感染。在本研究中，使用噬菌体组分析研究了来自欧洲不同国家采用未定义嗜温发酵剂培养物进行发酵的乳清样品中的噬菌体流行情况和多样性。评估了噬菌体组中存在的RBP基因型范围以及相关的RBP-CWPS结合能力，从而完善和扩展了RBP分组系统，并鉴定了几个迄今为止未知的RBP（亚）组。这些发现极大地扩展了我们对乳球菌RBP多样性及其对CWPS受体结构的结合特异性的认识，从而提高了发酵结果的可预测性以及发酵剂培养物轮换和混合的稳健性。
